One of these days, very soon, I'm going to replace our old Dell Inspiron laptop. In computer 
years, this thing is an antique. It's almost 4 (gasp) years old!
Truth be told, it's just fine. Sure the Celeron 1.2 MHz is "technically" uncool and slow. The 14" screen is passe. I had to buy a wireless networking card and stick it in the PCMCIA slot (or whatever it's called these days). It only has 256MB of RAM. It "only" has Windows XP on it. Like I said....obsolete.
But it runs IE 7.0, no problem. Microsoft Office? definitely. ITunes, check. Now get ready for this: Photoshop? Yep. Illustrator? Yep, again. Eclipse 3.2? Microsoft Visual Studio? Yes to all. Plus running either a service of Apache, IIS or JBoss (all web server nerd things). I've developed a ton of Java, ASP.Net, SWT, PHP and it's my main Web site maintainer box. It's handled them all, no problem. So then other than techno-lust, why am I going to replace it?
Windows.
I no longer want or need it. I have no interest in seeing or using Windows Vista. Truth be told, Windows XP is just fine...from a Windows-centric point of view. But it's a hassle. It's no fun. And I don't "need" it. The other day, I blathered on about PC Anywhere/Remote Desktop. I can do both of those things on a Mac using Parallels. Netflix Watch Now works just fine on this machine. So the Dell would become a "dumb terminal"...used only to tap into a remote desktop or video player on the World Wide Wacky Web.
So what would I get? It'll probably be an Apple MacBook, most likely the next generation. What's currently out there is still fundamentally the initial release, with a tweek here and there. Maybe with LED backlight, or more RAM...but definitely with Mac OS 10.5 (I can't remember those dumb cat names...) Something like this:
Would I consider anything else?
You betcha. I'm seriously intrigued by these "new" mini-notebooks. I say new in quotes, because they're hardly new. I used to have a Poquet PC and loved it. I spent many hours on airplanes with my Toshiba Libretto, it was the best. I loved my Psion Revo.
years, this thing is an antique. It's almost 4 (gasp) years old!Truth be told, it's just fine. Sure the Celeron 1.2 MHz is "technically" uncool and slow. The 14" screen is passe. I had to buy a wireless networking card and stick it in the PCMCIA slot (or whatever it's called these days). It only has 256MB of RAM. It "only" has Windows XP on it. Like I said....obsolete.
But it runs IE 7.0, no problem. Microsoft Office? definitely. ITunes, check. Now get ready for this: Photoshop? Yep. Illustrator? Yep, again. Eclipse 3.2? Microsoft Visual Studio? Yes to all. Plus running either a service of Apache, IIS or JBoss (all web server nerd things). I've developed a ton of Java, ASP.Net, SWT, PHP and it's my main Web site maintainer box. It's handled them all, no problem. So then other than techno-lust, why am I going to replace it?
Windows.
I no longer want or need it. I have no interest in seeing or using Windows Vista. Truth be told, Windows XP is just fine...from a Windows-centric point of view. But it's a hassle. It's no fun. And I don't "need" it. The other day, I blathered on about PC Anywhere/Remote Desktop. I can do both of those things on a Mac using Parallels. Netflix Watch Now works just fine on this machine. So the Dell would become a "dumb terminal"...used only to tap into a remote desktop or video player on the World Wide Wacky Web.
So what would I get? It'll probably be an Apple MacBook, most likely the next generation. What's currently out there is still fundamentally the initial release, with a tweek here and there. Maybe with LED backlight, or more RAM...but definitely with Mac OS 10.5 (I can't remember those dumb cat names...) Something like this:
Would I consider anything else?
You betcha. I'm seriously intrigued by these "new" mini-notebooks. I say new in quotes, because they're hardly new. I used to have a Poquet PC and loved it. I spent many hours on airplanes with my Toshiba Libretto, it was the best. I loved my Psion Revo.
But now two new entries are really hitting my hot buttons:
The Palm Foleo. I know, the press is killing this thing. It's not going to be that popular. I get that. But here's where it shines: I can use it anywhere in my house (or anywhere there's WiFi), at a seconds notice to hit the web, my #1 use for what would be my second computer. Need to edit video or write Java code? Try something else. Need to look up something on ESPN? That's the ticket. I'm kind of viewing it like a cordless phone really. A cell phone is the ultimate in portability and flexibilty, but I have this utility, in the phone's case it's the old land line, in the computer's case it's my WiFi. Why not get to it as fast as possible? Instant on, modeless OS (like the original Palm OS...my all time favorite). It browses and emails...maybe it'll do something else, but who cares? I use Google Apps, which should run fine, if I really need an "application". Based upon photos, the screen looks gorgeous. About the only real ding...the price. $500 is half way to a MacBook...and that might be an easier sell in the Shaffer household. Maybe it'll fail and they'll fire sale them and I can pick one up on the cheap.
The ASUS EEE PC 701 & PC 1001. Goofy name. Cool product. Basically a solid state, mini Linux notebook. Alledgedly going to be "around $200" for the 701 (7" screen) and $300 for the 10" screen. I'm interested, very interested. Nearly the same feature set as the Foleo, missing the bluetooth connection (Foleo's alleged "killer" application and a complete non-issue to me) and it's overall OS fit and finish (slightly modified Xandros Linux vs. heavily customized "Palm" Linux). But at that price, with my stated use case....this might be the winner. I'd settle for the 701 and covet the 1001. And neither should set me back more than about $300... I could still get Kristie the MacBook, especially if my hope for a job at the old Apple Store comes through....